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Exercises/Chest/Push-Up (Wide Hand)

Exercise

PUSH-UP (WIDE HAND)

BeginnerPrimaryChestSecondaryDeltoidsTriceps

Form cues

Walk your hands wider than shoulder-width before you begin
Keep elbows slightly flared to engage the outer chest
Maintain a rigid plank line from head to heels throughout
Lower your chest between your hands — not past them
Press evenly through both palms on the way up
Animated diagram — illustrative only

About

A push-up variation with the hands placed significantly wider than shoulder-width, shifting the emphasis to the outer pectoral fibers and reducing tricep involvement. The wide hand position also increases the range of motion for the chest stretch.

Instructions

Step-by-step technique

01

Assume a wide plank position

Begin in a standard plank position, but place your hands significantly wider than shoulder-width apart on the floor. Ensure your fingers are pointed slightly outward to maintain stability and align your body in a rigid, straight line from your head to your heels.

brace your core
02

Lower body toward the floor

Slowly bend your elbows to descend, keeping your body perfectly straight as you move toward the ground. Focus on lowering your chest directly between your hands rather than shifting your torso too far forward or backward.

control the descent
03

Maintain elbow flare

As you descend, allow your elbows to flare out slightly more than in a standard push-up. This specific angle shifts the tension away from your triceps and places a greater stretch on your outer pectoral muscle fibers.

flared elbows
04

Press back to start

Once your chest is just above the floor, drive through your palms to push your body back to the starting plank position. Focus on pressing evenly through both hands to ensure your chest muscles are doing the primary work.

push the floor away
05

Reset and repeat motion

Fully extend your arms at the top of the movement while keeping your glutes and core engaged throughout. Pause briefly at the top to reset your posture before beginning your next repetition with controlled form.

keep spine neutral

Common mistakes

What goes wrong — and why

Mistake

Wrist pain from overly wide placement

Extreme width places the wrist in radial deviation, stressing the joint.

Hands should be about 1.5× shoulder width; beyond this, wrist angle becomes problematic for most people.

Mistake

Elbows flaring above the hands

Elbows pointing up (rather than back at 45°) increases anterior shoulder stress.

Keep elbows at 45–60° from the torso; visualize the elbows pointing toward the hips as you lower.

Mistake

Not reaching full depth

A shortened descent limits the chest stretch benefit of the wider hand placement.

Lower until the chest is 1–2 cm from the floor; feel the full outer pec stretch at the bottom.

Variations · Progressions · Regressions

Adaptations for every level

Regression

Standard Push-Up (shoulder-width)

Build foundational push-up strength before widening the hand placement.

Variation

Wide-Grip Dumbbell Bench Press

Use wide-grip dumbbells on a bench to train the same outer pectoral emphasis with the ability to add load.

Progression

Wide Push-Up with Archer Motion

At the bottom of each wide push-up, shift weight to one side in an archer motion for an added unilateral challenge.